Author Topic: Ham and bacon?  (Read 10663 times)

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #15 on: November 27, 2012, 03:09:56 PM »
Yes it is.  If you check on Amazon for Angelina's Gourmet they sell all of the powders.  Tomato powder is awesome for any number of things and the Worchestshire powder is what they use to flavor the salt.  You can also make the sauce with it by just adding water.

http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A724716011%2Cp_6%3AA82OCV0PPPOA6
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Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #16 on: April 13, 2013, 07:49:15 AM »
My goodness look what you all have been up too! Now your into my favorite neck of the woods. It all looks great folks I am proud of you all.

I woud like to just add a few comments mostly directed at Crystal;

#1 as far as nitrates go, you eat them everyday and just don't know it. If you ever eat root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, turnips, even celery and green leafy vegetables you eat nitrates. They are naturally occuring and particularly heavy in the things I just mentioned. You would obsorb more nitrates eatting a carrot or potatoes than you would get from curing a ham or bacon IF used as directed.

#2 if you buy products which are NATURALLY CURED AND NITRATE FREE - it's probably a lie. Many companies these days use a biproduct found in celery to cure meats and sausages and are considered ORGANIC. Guess what that biproduct is? It is simply the nitrates found in celery! Still Nitrates! Somehow they are allowed to call it nitrate free.

#3 as far as the cream of tartar goes it is NOT used for curing the meat it is only a way to help get that nice rosey color in your meats that you get from nitrates. For example a ham will be less pink without using nitrates and some people find a pale ham unappealing - but add a teaspoon of cream of tartar and it looks better-  it will turn pink.

#4 the biggest reason I "wet cure" big meats is salt. I find salt packing way to salty for my tastes. Even soaking it in water before the smoke to remove the saltiness is a bit much for me and seems counter productive and wasteful to me. I only dry cure sausages like salumi but that is another process altogether.

#5 Tomato powder is wonderful stuff! As is the Worchestshire powder! In my humble opinion THE best tomatoe powder or any other freeze dried foods come from Honeyville grain.  http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/freeze-dried-vegetables.aspx?page=2 I highly recommend the tomato powder for soups, stews, juice or paste and it tastes like it was picked this morning. I few others I have tried did not have that fresh flavor. The fruits  - blueberries, strawberries, mangos, anything without ig seeds are great I have even made pies with them. I didn't like the raspberries as they still have seeds and seem crunchy - I don't like the big seeds.

Good luck guys and gals!


Offline Schnecken Slayer

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #17 on: April 13, 2013, 08:43:50 AM »
I think this is where the confusion starts - Originally curing was done with Nitrates, (Saltpeter) these are bad and carcinogenic. These were banned and replaced with Nitrites.



-Bill
« Last Edit: April 13, 2013, 08:56:45 AM by Schnecken Slayer »
-Bill
One day I will add something here...

Slemps

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #18 on: July 30, 2013, 09:26:31 AM »
I think this is where the confusion starts - Originally curing was done with Nitrates, (Saltpeter) these are bad and carcinogenic. These were banned and replaced with Nitrites.

Actually, Nitrates are still used. Usually you would use Nitrates in products that need to cure and age for long periods of time like air dried ham and charcuterie.

The reason is that, over time, the Nitrites are broken down, but you still need the protection as you are aging for months. Nitrates slowly convert to Nitrites over time so they keep the meat protected over longer periods.

That is why you get different curing powders for different jobs. You should never "make do" with one over the other.

S.


dthelmers

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #19 on: July 30, 2013, 01:22:32 PM »
#3 as far as the cream of tartar goes it is NOT used for curing the meat it is only a way to help get that nice rosey color in your meats that you get from nitrates. For example a ham will be less pink without using nitrates and some people find a pale ham unappealing - but add a teaspoon of cream of tartar and it looks better-  it will turn pink.

How much cream of tartar do you use? I brined a couple of Boston butts. I seasoned and smoked one like pastrami, my regular "porkstrami", and I cooked the other one in the crock pot like corned beef. It tasted wonderful, but the color was kind of sad, and even worse on re-heating. I canned up the leftovers with pickled cabbage, and although it tastes good, gray food is just unappetizing. do you add the cream of tartar to the brine?
Dave, down in Meriden

Slemps

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #20 on: July 30, 2013, 01:33:23 PM »
How much cream of tartar do you use? I brined a couple of Boston butts. I seasoned and smoked one like pastrami, my regular "porkstrami", and I cooked the other one in the crock pot like corned beef. It tasted wonderful, but the color was kind of sad, and even worse on re-heating. I canned up the leftovers with pickled cabbage, and although it tastes good, gray food is just unappetizing. do you add the cream of tartar to the brine?
Dave, down in Meriden

I'd love to know this too. Never heard of that before.

S.

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #21 on: November 03, 2013, 04:08:18 PM »
#3 as far as the cream of tartar goes it is NOT used for curing the meat it is only a way to help get that nice rosey color in your meats that you get from nitrates. For example a ham will be less pink without using nitrates and some people find a pale ham unappealing - but add a teaspoon of cream of tartar and it looks better-  it will turn pink.

How much cream of tartar do you use? I brined a couple of Boston butts. I seasoned and smoked one like pastrami, my regular "porkstrami", and I cooked the other one in the crock pot like corned beef. It tasted wonderful, but the color was kind of sad, and even worse on re-heating. I canned up the leftovers with pickled cabbage, and although it tastes good, gray food is just unappetizing. do you add the cream of tartar to the brine?
Dave, down in Meriden

If you include insta-cure #1 in your cure, pink salt, there isn'a a need for the cream of tartar as it will keep the meat pink as well.  Cream of tartar is for those that do not want to use nitrites.
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Offline DeejayDebi

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #22 on: February 23, 2014, 09:17:41 PM »
Sorry I haven't been around lately. You would use about .4 ozs of cream of tartar instead of the nitrates for changing color per 1 gallon of brine. Not as pretty as nitrates but not so grey.

murmur

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #23 on: April 27, 2014, 04:32:29 PM »
My 21 yr old bottomless pit of a son moved back home last fall and asked me to school him on Sausage , Bacon and Ham.
We make one of the above about every 2nd week.
The smoker also gets a bi-weekly workout :)

Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #24 on: June 06, 2015, 10:44:18 PM »
Had to revive this thread today.  My buddy called to tell me there was a sale on pork bellies.  Got a 10 pounder to do some dry cure bacon. Man do I love this stuff!!!:P
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Offline H-K-J

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #25 on: June 06, 2015, 11:05:09 PM »
Hey Buddy how bout when yer done yuh jest shipper on down to me n the little woman :P ;D
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Offline Al Lewis

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #26 on: June 06, 2015, 11:12:24 PM »
How about I just invite you to breakfast?  LOL
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Offline H-K-J

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Re: Ham and bacon?
« Reply #27 on: June 07, 2015, 12:13:27 AM »
Thanks, I will be there if we leave now, ummmm wait, can't do it I gahduh re-primer the jeep 8)
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